


Chips Under the Starlight

by alphamikefoxtrot



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 22:21:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1099264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphamikefoxtrot/pseuds/alphamikefoxtrot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sounds romantic, doesn't it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chips Under the Starlight

**Author's Note:**

> This is a 'sort of' high school!AU between the Doctor and Rose. Un-beta-ed, so all mistakes are mine and all recognizable dialogues are someone else's. *sigh* When can I claim something to be mine and mine only? Nonetheless, merry Christmas, peoples!

Rose Tyler was pulling anxiously at the sleeves of her old hoodie. He was late. He was never late. He had promised her a Christmas dinner. Well, the sort that a high school senior working part time in a garage can afford and a council estate freshman (woman?) can dress up for. It usually means dinner at the chippy.

She would never complain because everything and everywhere was better with John Smith.

***

John Smith was tapping his boots impatiently on the dirty floor of the garage. His boss was being a prat today. He had done everything he was supposed to do and yet the bastard was still keeping him around. Rose would be waiting. He had promised her a Christmas dinner and he wasn't the sort of man who would break a promise even though it was only a dinner at a chippy.

He would never complain because everything and everywhere was better with Rose Tyler.

***

John started his blue car with slight trouble before finally leaving the garage. His car was an old, boxy thing, probably only ran on his sheer willpower and all the effort he put on restoring her to mostly working condition. Rose had only smiled at him when he told her that his car wasn't an 'it', she was a 'she' and she has a name. The TARDIS, which stands for 'Time and Relative Dimension in Sedan'. He could feel his heart swell with something for Rose when she patted the TARDIS dashboard like an old friend. They're going to get along just fine. 

It was a quick drive to Rose's council flat. _Downstairs. Be swift. Don't want to meet the harpy._ John pressed 'send' on his mobile. A slap was almost worth it, he thought as he got out of his car and leaned on her side, arms crossed in waiting.

Soon after that, he saw a flash of pink and yellow bounding swiftly downstairs from one of the flats on the third floor. As the blurry figure came closer into focus he beamed widely at her. 

"Rose!"

"John," she waved and smiled at him. "Where the hell have you been?"

"The boss was being a prat and TARDIS broke down, I had to— What?" He stopped when he saw the look on Rose's face.

Rose grinned. "Nothin'. 'S just sometimes... You're _so_ unbelievable."

"Oi, I am _so_ impressive." John squared his leather jacket-clad shoulders as if he was telling the truth and only the truth. He hoped Rose realised that.

"Whatever! Is she okay now? Your TARDIS? You're supposed to take me somewhere you didn't want to tell me. Any plan B if she broke down again?"

"She's fine. Plan B would be... Chips?"

Rose snorted. "As long as you're paying."

"No money," he shook his head and didn't even had the gall to look almost sorry at that.

She thumped him lightly on the shoulder. "What sort of date are you? C'mon then, tightwad, chips are on me, but wherever you're taking me better be worth it."

***

_"He's like, ages older than you!"_

_Shireen's piercing shriek was probably heard all the way down the school corridor, Rose thought. "He's only two years our senior, Shireen," she'd argued. Obviously, Shireen was having none of that. She had accused her of all sorts of things. From senior's privilege to stuff that would make her mother blush. There's stuff people say about men with big ears, you know._

_"We're not like that."_

***

Two bags of steaming hot chips and two cold drinks on Rose's lap later, they were on their way somewhere. They weren't quite out of London, she was sure of that but at the same time she had no idea where they were going. John had shushed her from asking where they were going long ago by asking her various questions, telling her to sing, watch the road or turn on the radio. He even allowed her to rummage through his precious, precious collection of CDs which were something. Although after a while, one Rose Tyler had had enough.

"Where _are_ we going?"

"Here," John replied with a too-sure smirk on his face that caused turmoil within Rose's teenage hormones. She bit her lip and allowed him to pull over in an empty car park covered in light snow. It was a dark night and a lot of the street lamps were out but she was certain she could make out an empty car park anywhere. This is not what I was expecting, she thought, and voiced it, too. "This is anti-anticlickmatic." John often said that about many things. One of them was the fact that no, one of their teachers wasn't an actual alien despite how much he looked like Jabba the Hut.

"Anti-climatic," he corrected. John noted the disappointment in her voice and, still with the too-sure smirk on his face, got out of the car and hopped on the boxy bonnet of his car. He patted the empty space beside him as if it was the most normal thing to do. Shaking her head, Rose followed him out and took her proffered place after she had shoved their food and drink at him.

"Now what?"

"Just sit back, look up, and let your eyes adjust."

***

It took her a numb bum, one and a half bag of chips (she'd stole John's, he was happy to surrender it) until she saw what he was trying to show her.

"Oh my God," she muttered, her head thrown back fully as she took in the sight above her. Rose could hear John shift as he looked up with her.

"Beautiful," he replied.

There were stars. Actual stars above their heads, thousands, millions little bright dots adorning the dark velvet night. Twinkling like it only did in documentaries she saw on telly. She'd never seen this many stars before. Not in London. "Are we still in London?" She asked without taking her eyes off the sky.

"Yep. All you need is a nice, secluded, dark space to properly see the sky, y'know."

"I can't believe I never thought to do that," she chuckled at herself.

"Can't blame you, you've already got your head in the sky—Ouch!" He rubbed the spot on his rib where Rose had just jabbed him with her elbow.

"Shut up and let me see."

They sat on the bonnet like that for a quite while. The ice had diluted their drinks while the remaining chips had lost their warmth but Rose didn't care about any of that.

When she finally turned her head to look into John's blue eyes, all she could say was, "Thank you."

John held out his hand, waiting for Rose to put her hand within his grip. "It's alright," he replied with a small shrug, a shy smile on his face when she placed her hand over his. "Merry Christmas, Rose Tyler."

"Merry Christmas, John."

They were sitting so close to each other by now. Neither of them dared to move for fear they would break the moment. Whatever 'moment' it was they were sharing.

"I can pull out a mistletoe from my jacket pocket an' hang it over our heads if that's what you want," John said, breaking the silence between them. "Unless..." His eyes searched her gaze, afraid he had said the wrong thing. They've been tip-toeing around each other for what felt like an eternity. He was leaving for university next year and damn him if—

"You can shut up," Rose spoke. She effectively cut his train of thought when she let go of his hand, pulled him closer by the lapels of his leather jacket and kissed him.

***

Yeah, maybe they _were_ like that.


End file.
